Mixing special effects with crazy live action makes for some fabulously entertaining and clever music videos. We talk with the Paris / London based director Emile Sornin about his film making. 

You’ve got one hell of a warped sense of humour. How do you come up with your ideas for your videos? Does the special effect idea happen first and you adapt a narrative around it or do you work out a treatment according to the lyrics and the band’s brief?

It’s not the same process each time but the effect idea comes in first most of the time and then I write a story around it. I know it’s bad but usually i’m not so much into the band’s lyrics. The music, the rhythm is really the first thing which inspires me.

Your work has matured so much – although it’s always been fun. Your videos like Jamaica’s Two on Two, Disclosure’s Grab Her, AltJ’s Fitzpleasure and of course Dizzee Rascal’s I Don’t Need a Reason completely lifted your game to the next level. Was this simply down to you becoming more experienced and confident? Which were the most difficult videos to make and how did you resolve any challenges?

I’m not a good illustrator, I’m not drawing or storyboarding anything. So of course I have a shot list, but most of the time I made all effect before the shooting, so I have my laptop and I can show to the artists, characters or the shooting crew how it is working…

In fact how does your creative process work – do you sketch out drawings or do you write, do you storyboard in detail or just have a shots list?

In fact I don’t really realize it, I guess that’s the experience, the more I do the more I become confident with projects, I learn many new things for each new video and try to improve each time. I don’t have any bad memories about some difficult video because I’m really surrounded by a good crew and really good post-producer…

A lot of your work is driven by morphing and warping – where does your knowledge of special effects come from and how much is in camera trickery and how much do you do in cgi?

There is not so much morphing in my work, mostly camera trickery like you said…
My first job was as a film editor, and I was in post producing too, so I know it. In upstream I experiment a lot of trickery effects on my own body with a small camera and using softwares like After Effects.

But all cgi things is really strange for me… and as I said before I’m surrounded by really good post-producers.

You’re signed to Division in Paris and now Riff Raff in London – You’re already popular with English musicians but will you be looking for work beyond music videos such as commercials?

Yes of course, when the script is good, funny or interesting, be it a music video or commercial it’s very interesting to do.

It’s not the same job , maybe music video is more creative with more freedom, but it’s the game and i’m ok with that. I’m really happy to be a part of Riff Raff because I think it matches very well with my state of mind.

LINKS: 

Division

Riff Raff